ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Komets Game Day Snap Shot

January 29, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


WHEELING NAILERS

(19-16-1-5, 44 PTS, 2nd Atlantic, 8th East)

106 GF, 121 GA

PP: 12.5% (18-for-144), 19th

PK: 83.4% (146-for-175), 16th

21-F-Sahir Gill (8 goals, 21 assists, 29 points in 36 games)

7-F-Max MacKay (9 goals, 12 assists, 21 points in 29 games)

2-D-Mike Ratchuk (7 goals, 14 assists, 21 points in 38 games)

98-F-Chaz Johnson (7 goals, 12 assists, 19 points in 40 games)

16-F-Cody Sylvester (11 goals, 3 assists, 14 points in 22 games)

22-F-Jack MacLellan (8 goals, 6 assists, 14 points in 25 games)

1-G-Mike Condon (13-9-4 record, 2.53 GAA, .921 Sv% in 26 games)

FORT WAYNE KOMETS

(17-14-4-4, 42 PTS, 4th North, 10th East)

112 GF, 122 GA

PP: 13.3% (21-for-158), 16th

PK: 88.1% (133-for-151), 3rd

13-F-Brandon Marino (18 goals, 30 assists, 48 points in 39 games)

61-F-Chris Auger (18 goals, 13 assists, 31 points in 39 games)

15-F-Mike Embach (13 goals, 11 assists, 24 points in 35 games)

17-D-Jace Coyle (4 goals, 18 assists, 22 points in 35 games)

10-D-Jordon Southorn (6 goals, 13 assists, 19 points in 28 games)

7-F-Matt Carter (11 goals, 6 assists, 17 points in 37 games)

35-G-Andrey Makarov (11-7-2 record, 2.79 GAA, .910 Sv% in 21 games)

Head-to-Head

Season Series: Nailers 2, Komets 0

Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 0, Komets 0

All-Time Series: Nailers 4, Komets 0

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Komets 0

One Down, Three to Go

On Sunday afternoon, the Wheeling Nailers opened their four-game homestand in successful fashion, defeating the Cincinnati Cyclones, 3-1. After Jacob Lagace and Josh Shalla exchanged goals in the opening stanza, neither team was able to light the lamp until the 6:20 mark of the third. That's when Cody Sylvester stepped up, scoring his fifth goal of the week and sixth in six games, giving the Nailers the lead. Max MacKay added an empty net goal, while Peter Mannino made 22 saves, as Wheeling jumped into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

A Quick Break from the Jackals

The Fort Wayne Komets are currently in the midst of six straight games against Atlantic Division opponents, with five of those games taking place against the Elmira Jackals. So far, the Komets have gone 2-2-0 in their first four games against Elmira, starting off with a 5-3 setback at home on January 17th. Fort Wayne then rebounded to take the first two games at First Arena, winning 4-3 and 4-0, before the Jackals were victorious 4-1 in the finale. Thus far his season, the Komets are 3-7-3 against Atlantic Division foes, with two of their last three games against that division taking place this week.

Blueline Personnel Gets Shuffled

Over the past few days, the Nailers have experienced four transactions that have affected their blueline. Two players have been signed to 25-game professional tryouts by AHL clubs, while two other players have joined Wheeling on an assignment by the parent Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh reassigned Nick D'Agostino and Harrison Ruopp to the Nailers, while Barry Goers was loaned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Myles Harvey was loaned to Hamilton. In addition, Wheeling lost the services of forward Jacob Lagace earlier in the week, as he elected to play in Norway. Finally, the Nailers activated forward Justin Smith from the 21-day injured reserve, as he is expected to play in his first game since November 30th.

Staring Down the League's Best Scorer

One player to watch on the opposite side of the ice on Wednesday will be Fort Wayne's Brandon Marino. Marino enters the week as the top scorer in the ECHL, having compiled 18 goals, 30 assists, and 48 points in 39 games. His next closest competitor is Alaska's Peter Sivak, who has accumulated 43 points in 34 games. However, that isn't where the buck stops for the Komets, as forward Scott Fleming ranks second in the ECHL among rookie scorers, with 34 points in 39 games. Evansville's Jeremy Langlois is the leader in that category, with 37 points in 29 games. Fort Wayne's biggest issue lies on the back end, where it has allowed 122 goals - the fourth most in the Eastern Conference.

The Only Game in Wheeling

For the second straight season, the Nailers and Komets will lock up only once in West Virginia, and that battle takes place on Wednesday night. In 2012-13, Fort Wayne's lone visit to Wheeling came on December 15th, when the Nailers scored their first win of the season, when trailing after two periods of play. Luke Pither delivered the deciding goal at the 50-second mark of overtime. In a familiar twist, both head-to-head games this season have seen comebacks by Wheeling, as the Nailers erased 1-0 and 2-1 deficits in a 6-2 triumph on November 8th, before squashing 3-0 and 4-3 Fort Wayne leads in a 5-4 overtime victory on November 23rd.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 29, 2014


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